Voting for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections began at 7 AM on Thursday across all 234 constituencies, with voters lining up early at polling stations amid tight security arrangements.
The key electoral contest is between the ruling DMK and the main opposition AIADMK, while actor-politician Vijay-led TVK and Tamil nationalist leader Seeman’s NTK are also actively contesting, making the race multi-cornered and closely watched.
Several prominent leaders and public figures were among the early voters. AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami, veteran Congress leader P. Chidambaram, BJP candidate Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, and NTK leader Seeman cast their votes in different parts of the state. Actor Rajinikanth voted at Stella Maris College in Chennai, while TVK founder Vijay also exercised his franchise at Vels International School.
Union Minister L. Murugan, BJP leader Khushbu Sundar along with her husband filmmaker Sundar C, and Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik were also among those who voted early in Chennai.
The Election Commission has made extensive arrangements for polling, including deployment of over 1.06 lakh ballot units, 75,064 control units, and VVPAT machines. A 20% reserve for EVMs and 30% for VVPATs has been maintained to avoid technical disruptions.
Security has been significantly strengthened with the deployment of 300 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and more than 83,000 state police personnel to ensure peaceful and smooth voting across the state.
The total electorate includes approximately 2.93 crore women voters, 2.83 crore men voters, and 7,728 third-gender voters, reflecting the scale and diversity of the democratic exercise.
